Wednesday, April 8, 2020

4 Video interview tips for remote job interviews

If you are applying for remote roles or if you are looking for jobs
during this period of social distancing, mastering video interviews is
very important. Likely you have some experience with taking phone and
even some Zoom/Google Hangout interviews in the past, but we wanted to
compile a list of video interview tips so that you go into these calls
with confidence.Most companies follow the same general interview flow:

Phone screen with HR/recruiter

Technical phone or video interview

Onsite/video interview, which includes technical, behavioral, and cross-functional interviews

We have worked with hundreds of people through their phone screens
and the rest of their interviews so that they can land great jobs and we
wanted to share some of our top tips to prepare for these video
interviews so you can go in with confidence.

1. Learn what is important to the company

You need to research the company
before your phone screen and all behavioral interviews so that you have
a good understanding of the company’s mission, values, and products. Knowledge of the company mission will help you when you talk about
yourself, in your elevator pitch (introduction) and throughout the
behavioral questions. You want to connect your experience and goals to
the company’s values so they know you are a good culture fit. Check out
the company’s About page, Culture page, and Jobs/Careers page for
information on what they look for in a good candidate and team member.
If you are looking for an elevator pitch template to adapt for yourself, check out our guide.You should also make sure you have a good sense of the products that
the company works on. A lot of people skip this step when they are
interviewing with big tech companies because they already use the
products. While it is beneficial for you to be a user of the product, so
much so that you should consider downloading the app or signing up
before interviewing, you should also make sure you read about each
product on their website to get a better understanding of the history
and goals. You should be able to speak intelligently about how you can
drive impact, especially if you are applying for a specific product
team, like Oculus at Facebook.

2. Prepare responses to common behavioral interview questions

Don’t let yourself be taken by surprise. There are some questions you
know you will be asked, so you should prepare your responses as best
you can before the interview. You don’t want to come across as
rehearsed, but you do get the added advantage of being behind the
computer screen, so you can use notes to help you while you respond.Phone interviews are typically brief and more conversational, but
behavioral interviews in your “onsite” will be more in depth. Some
questions you will likely see are: